General, you should rest now; the lady is even more ruthless.

It wasn't until the fifth round of betting that Sixteen realized something was wrong.

He originally thought that the lady meant for him to do some underhanded things and cooperate with her to win a sum of money, which might be no more than a few thousand taels.

But as his wife won game after game, and the opposing dealer's expression grew increasingly grim, he realized that his wife seemed to possess some real skill.

He was only responsible for shouting a couple of times from behind to liven things up; his wife did everything else herself.

I never expected my wife to be such a gambling prodigy.

Similarly, he naturally saw Jiang Qiqi's disguise technique.

While shocked, Sixteen also had some thoughts in his mind: his wife was not as simple as she seemed on the surface.

However, he secretly asked Twelve and Nineteen, and also observed his master's attitude. Everyone seemed to approve of her, so he was temporarily willing to give her a chance to stay in General Wang's Mansion.

Of course, he would not hesitate to take drastic measures if he discovered anything amiss.

That was my original thought, but after what happened today, Sixteen understands now.

If his wife truly harbored any disloyalty towards the General's Mansion, his master might not fall for it, but those two fools, Twelve and Nineteen, would definitely be manipulated at will.

The casino owner, whom even his own master couldn't find, had been hiding behind the scenes, yet the lady managed to make him reveal himself in just one hour.

He seemed to gamble just like everyone else, but he always won, and even after winning 100,000 taels of silver, he was able to walk away unscathed.

Even Sixteen had to admit that the lady was indeed more formidable than any other woman he had ever met.

They might even be more powerful than their master.

Sixteen didn't want to admit it, but the facts were undeniable.

He was well aware that people like himself and his master, who had received a traditional education from childhood, were, to put it nicely, adept at using overt strategies, and to put it bluntly, inflexible in their dealings with others.

Sixteen couldn't help but wonder if the outcome would have been much better if someone like Madam had been there to assist them during that great battle a few years ago.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jiang Qiqi and Shen Luo were inside, chatting about what had happened that day, when Twelve returned.

"Master, madam."

"Hmm? You're back," Jiang Qiqi asked. "How was it? Did you see anything?"

"I see, madam, it's been quite lively this afternoon."

Shen Luo, listening to their conversation from the side, asked in a daze, "What are you talking about?"

Jiang Qiqi explained, "Before I went out with Sixteen this afternoon, I asked Twelve to go to the Jiang residence and keep an eye on Jiang Qianzhong for me."

Shen Luo nodded and smiled gently. Qi Qi was always very thoughtful in her work.

"Tell me what the Jiang residence looked like this afternoon."

Shortly after Twelve arrived at the Jiang residence, someone came to report that the casino said the two princes and the General of the State had gone to the casino. At first, Jiang Qianzhong did not take it seriously and did not intend to show up.

A second report came that a young nobleman was winning big at the casino and had already won several thousand taels of silver.

Jiang Qianzhong simply waved his hand dismissively, saying, "There's always someone like that every now and then. It's just good luck. Don't worry, once they taste the sweetness of winning money and get carried away, they'll quickly lose it all back, even if it's doubled."

Less than two incense sticks' worth of time later, someone else came to report: "You, you should still go and take a look, that person has already won 60,000 taels!"

It was only then that Jiang Qianzhong took the matter seriously.

"No matter how much our people and machines try to cheat, they can't lose."

Do such people really exist?

Jiang Qianzhong left with the messenger, but Twelve didn't leave. He stayed on the roof and discovered a big secret!

After Jiang Qianzhong left, Jiang Chenshi, the mistress of the Jiang family and Jiang Qianzhong's second wife, secretly came to Jiang Qianzhong's study.

Looking left and right, it seemed to be searching for something, and its movements were practiced, so it didn't look like it was the first time it had done this.

This matter caught Jiang Qiqi's attention. She hadn't had much contact with Jiang Qianzhong, and the little she knew about him came from Xiang'er.

However, it seems that Jiang Qianzhong and Jiang Chenshi are not as harmonious as they appear. Could it be that Jiang Chenshi has ulterior motives?

"Do you know what Jiang Chenshi has turned over?" Jiang Qiqi asked.

Nodding at twelve: "After she left, I went downstairs and took a look. She was looking at a letter, which seemed to be correspondence between Jiang Qianzhong and someone else. It had just been received and hadn't been put away yet."

“Jiang Qianzhong is one of the high-ranking members of the Third Prince’s faction. Logically, he shouldn’t need to be involved in matters like making contacts,” Jiang Qiqi pondered.

What was written in the letter?

Twelve shook his head: "The letter looks disorganized, and it's impossible to understand what it's writing."

"There might be a password or code," Shen Luo, who was listening nearby, said.

“But the envelope is unusual; it feels like it’s made of leather.” Twelve looked at his master beside him.

Shen Luo's expression immediately turned serious: "Are you sure?"

Twelve nodded slowly: "I have carefully examined it and confirmed it."

Jiang Qiqi noticed something was wrong when she saw their expressions: "Is there something wrong with the envelope?"

Shen Luo frowned and explained to her, "The terrain and climate of Beiming are not suitable for farming, and most of the country relies on animal husbandry for a living. Therefore, the nobles of Beiming have a habit of using cowhide as envelopes."

This means that Jiang Qianzhong may have had private dealings with nobles of the Northern Ming Dynasty.

None of them expected that Twelve would discover such important information on his trip.

"Call Sixteen over in a bit, and we'll discuss our strategy and see if we can find out who's been in contact with Jiang Qianzhong."

Shen Luo pondered, never expecting that this little Jiang Qianzhong would be so bold.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The relationship between Nanyue and Beiming has always been strained, with continuous warfare over the decades.

Ten years ago, General Shen Zisheng of Nanyue fell into a trap and died on the battlefield.

Since then, the Nanyue army has suffered repeated defeats, and within three years, the Northern Ming has captured thirteen cities. The Northern Ming used war to sustain itself, and its army once lingered near the capital of Nanyue.

It wasn't until Shen Zisheng's grandson, Shen Luo, volunteered and, at the young age of fifteen, led a group of personal guards and the demoralized Nanyue army to victory.

Since then, Nanyue has gradually taken control of the battlefield, recuperating and finding opportunities to retake the city. After more than five years, it finally drove Beiming back to the border line that General Shen had defended his entire life.

On that borderland where countless bones had been buried, the two armies engaged in the largest battle in ten years.

Nobody knows what happened.

In that great battle, 180,000 Nanyue troops fought against 400,000 Beiming troops for ten days and ten nights, and in the end, less than 40,000 survived.

But we won!

The Northern Ming Dynasty conceded peace, and the two countries signed an agreement to cease hostilities for a century.

But this was just a facade. In reality, over the past year, the Northern Ming had continued to make small moves, forcing the Southern Yue to continuously station more troops along the border between the two countries.

It's uncertain how long the superficial peace between the two countries can last.

As a high-ranking official of the imperial court, Jiang Qianzhong could not possibly be unaware of the seriousness of colluding with enemy countries.